Street-railway-track cleaner.



W J. BRIGGS. STREET RAILWAY TRACK GLBANBR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 21, 1911.

Patented Dec. 10, 1912-;

2 snnnws-smim '1.

COLUMBIA PLANOCIRAFH c W. J. BRIGGS.

STREET RAILWAY TRACK CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 21, 1911. 1,046,958. Patented Dec. 10, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WILLIAM J". BRIGGS, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

STREET-RAILWAY-TRACK CLEANER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 10, 1912.

Application filed November 21, 1911. Serial No. 661,508.

device for street railway cars embodying such characteristics as to provide for an efficlent cleaning of spaces between the rails and guard rails, particularly on curves.

Another object is to provide a device.

which may be readily carried by street railway cars and supported in operative or inoperative positions and readily lowered for operation on curves to remove dirt, ice and other material that may be lodged between the rails and guard rails.

With the above and other objects in View the present invention consists in the combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the orm, proportion and size and minor details without departing from the scope or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a top plan view of the improved cleaning device applied to a street railway car; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the invention applied to a car, a portion of the car being shown in vertical section; Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view of the cleaning device on an enlarged scale; Fig. 4 is an inverted plan view of one end of the cleaning device; Fig. 5 is a. sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings the reference character 5 indicates a portion of the body of a car provided with any suitable type of rear truck 6. To the truck 6 my improved cleaning device is connected in the manner hereinafter explained.

The cleaning device consists of a truck 7 consisting of a transverse connecting beam 8 provided. with side frame pieces 9 in which latter are journaled traction wheels 10. Formed in these side frame pieces are inclined rectangularly shaped openings 12 adapted to adjustably receive scraping tools 13 which latter are held in place preferably by means of set screws. The scraping tools 13 are preferably cut away as indicated at 27 in Figs. 3 and 5 for a purpose presently explained.

Secured by screws or in any other suitable manner to the underside of each side frame piece 9 of the auxiliary truck or scraping device are substantially V-shaped scrapers 15, disposed preferably just in the rear of the scraping tools 13. When the dirt or other foreign matter is loosened between the rails and guard rails by the scraping tools 13 the loosened foreign matter rides up the cut-away portions 27 of the tools 13 to the tops of the rails when the scraping devices 15 in the rear of the tools 13 throw the dirt dug up by the scraping toolsto opposite sides of the rail and guard rail. One means for connecting the auxiliary truck or scraping device to the aforesaid truck 6 is by means of chains 28 and by means of a bell crank lever pivotally mounted at 17 to the truck 6 with its arm 18 pivotally connected to the truck 7 by a link 19 pivoted on the transverse connecting beam 8 of the auxiliary truck. Connected to the other arm 20 of the bell crank lever is a link 22 which has pivotal connection with one end of a lever 21 pivoted on the underside of the main truck 6 of the car. To the opposite end of this lever 21 is pivotally connected a rod 24 provided in its length with a turn buckle 25 and whose outer end is pivotally connected to the lower end of the operating lever 23 which latter is pivoted at 26 to the car body as shown in Fig. 1. Thus it will be understood that by operat-ing the lever 23 the bell crank lever aforesaid may be shifted upon its pivot 17 to raise the auxiliary truck or scraping device to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4, a reverse movement of the lever 23 lowering the scraping device. It is preferable to maintain the auxiliary truck or scraping device elevated until the car approaches a curve when the lever 23 may be manipulated to lower thev auxiliary truck or scraping device for the purpose of operating upon and removing the foreign matter lodged between the main rail and guard rail.

It is believed that further description of the invention is unnecessary.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

L A railway track cleaning device consisting of a truck embodying a transverse connecting beam and side frame pieces connected to the beam, wheels journaled in the side frame pieces, each side frame piece having an inclined opening, a scraping tool mounted in each inclined opening with each scraping tool having its lower end provided with a cut-away portion, and a second scraper secured to the underside of each side frame piece of the truck in the rear of the aforesaid scraping tool.

2. The combination with a street railway car including a truck, of an auxiliary truck suspended from the aforesaid truck and embodying a transverse connecting beam and side frame pieces, ascraping tool mounted in each side frame piece and having its lower end cut away, a second scraping tool secured to the underside of each side frame piece for cooperation with. the aforesaid scraping tools, an operating lever mounted on the car body, and connections between the operating lever and the auxiliary truck to raise and lower the latter.

3. A. device of the character described, comprising a truck consisting of a transverse connecting beam and side frame pieces, wheels journaled in the side frame pieces, scraping tools mounted in the side frame pieces, each scraping tool having its lower end cut away, a second scraping tool secured to the underside of each side frame piece in the rear of the aforesaid scraping tool for cooperation with the latter.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM J. BRIGGS.

Witnesses:

KATHERINE MOGUINN, ALICE A. Bnrces.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

